Tag: Chapter 12

May 1, 2026 – Surprised By Joy, Chapters 11-15

May 1, 2026 /

I know that it hasn’t been the most direct path, however we have gotten to the end. This week I have finished Surprised by Joy. That means if you are reading along, then you are done as well. The plan is to cover the last five chapters this week and then go over a total review next week.

If I could say anything about this week, I would say that this is my favorite third of the book. Not only did we get the details of Lewis’s conversion but the subject manner was more than dry, ancient authors, titles and fantasy land. You have a bit of a war story, introductions to the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and the final, happy conclusion.

I will save my overall opinion for next week. We will focus on the subject matter on hand. Here is a brief summary of the final five chapters. Last week we ended in what I would call high school in today’s parlance. We begin there again. There is one thing that I noticed in chapter 11 and that is kind of a change in tone. It is still primarily reading literature and poetry but an internal struggle seems to crop up. That struggle is the difference between fate and faith.

I think many non-Christians can relate to this. How can God be good and all powerful and yet bad things happen especially to good and faithful people? You hear that as a criticism to faith. That is a question that everyone has to wrestle with but I tend to side on the side of fatalism. I cannot diagnose any situation other than my own but I tend to look at it more like ‘your mission is done’. We cant see the future and only the individuals knows all of the details about their past. What may appear to be upstanding could only be a shell. I simply do not know.

Of course there are all kinds of nuances. Babies cannot be shells, right? Agreed, but it could be that death of an infant spurs some kind of reaction like starting a foundation or a sibling becomes a doctor or researcher. I simply cannot say the impact outside of the obvious ones.

From there, Lewis enlists in the Army and is eventually shipped off to the front in World War I. There is surprisingly little written about this time. It seems that this experience is so polarizing in those that have survived but it really does not seem to make much of an impact in Lewis’s life. I would characterize his attitude as ambivalent and certainly not galvanizing.

After getting wounded and subsequently discharged from the army he starts his life again, now at Oxford. The next chapters cover his life and changing attitudes as they are shaped by that experience. For example, Lewis starts to notice that Christian authors have more depth to their stories. And for that reason it starts to persuade Lewis that he needs to change his path.

I find this a little strange actually. I am not aware of many author’s religion but I cannot say that Lewis or Tolkien stories are any deeper than a lot of the fantasy I have read in my life. One reason that I stopped reading that genre is that I found it incredibly convoluted and nonsensical. Sure, I can suspend belief that magic can happen but when it comes to names, characters and events without definition or context, I simply kind of glaze over.

Another strange behavior is that Lewis admits to attending church without actually believing. I think in most cases, people lose their faith while attending church but never have I heard the other direction. The sensibility of it all is irrational. I shouldn’t have to explain that but dedicating time to something that has no significance is simply not what people do.

In the last chapter, Lewis describes that he doesn’t really know how it happened. Somehow throughout this process he became a Christian. Lewis’s description is Atheist to Theist to Christian. As a result, here is my synopsis of the book title. Joy is a synonym for faith and belief. The whole title is about being surprised to find faith despite the path to get there.

End Your Programming Routine: I would say the ending is a bit of a letdown. Based on how I started this post and where I am at, I bet that you can guess how I am going to come down next week. As evangelists, it makes no matter on how you come to faith but I find it hard to believe that reading literature written by Christians that would make it so. In fact, this might be the only documented case. Then again, people emulate those that they admire. Does that make genuine faith? I am not here to tear down Lewis. He most likely has done more good in his work. It is just that the story seems so improbable.

May 30, 2025 – In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection, Chapters 10-12

May 30, 2025 /

This week we have three chapters that are all about personal protection in action. Some anecdotes are personal while others are first hand. I will spend the majority of today’s work talking about the last one but each chapter will get a little bit of analysis at least.

Before we actually get into the specific chapters this week, I have been reading mention of the term “Super Vel”. I figured that it must be some sort of ammunition but I have never heard of it. I decided I would look into it a bit. As it turns out, Super Vel is a brand of ammunition. Based on the history (in the link), I would say that it was one of the first boutique, high performance cartridge manufacturers. Today’s equivalent would be Double Tap or Buffalo Bore. Sadly, Super Vel went out of business in 1981 right after this book was published.

The good news, a contemporary of Ayoob at Guns Magazine purchased the name and is producing Super Vel again. I have never seen it in the stores but looking around it can be purchased over the internet at what appears to be reasonable prices to me. It is 50% cheaper than the Underwood, hard cast lead .38 special I just purchased. Cool, retro packaging and story, now I know.

Chapter ten, I think is about justifying an informed choice to carry a handgun. While I am no Massad Ayoob and I do not claim to be, I don’t think that the advice is that good. What Ayoob is implying is that flashing your firearm (brandishing – see last week) can be a deterrent all on it’s own. While I believe that can be true, what if there was another assailant behind that I didn’t see. I repeat again, only show a firearm when you are justified to use it. An intimidating guy leaning against a car does not meat that standard.

There is also another phenomenon in self defense. The first person to contact the police is the victim. It would not be beneath a low life to call the police on you for flashing a firearm and all of the sudden you are arrested. Show your firearm only when you draw it. Draw it only when you are justified to use it. If you cannot shoot them on the spot, best to turn around if your are feeling intimidated.

In the next chapter, it talks about two things, discretion and competency. I made my feelings known about discretion already. As to competency, I whole heartedly agree to the concept. Some states require competency for your permit. But, going deeper than that a well placed shot beats misses every day.

When it comes to caliber or capacity, there are a lot of mall ninjas out there. The fact of the matter is that if you cannot hit your target, then all of that is moot. But even more than hitting the target is hitting the target to stop it. I have seen enough animals hit in less than lethal spots to run off or hole up to be dangerous. An animal is enacting the fight or flight reaction where as a person hellbent on suicide by cop might start coming for the person shooting at them.

Finally, the last chapter this week is the gold treasure of the book. You can do all the fundamentals right, a justified shoot, no other injuries and lose nearly everything. As soon as the ‘victim’s’ family decides to file suit, your second hell is about to begin. This happens with police departments all of the time. They have a nice insurance policy to accommodate the situation.

Criminals have figured out that they can get one more payout from the state. Generally, it is in the form of a settlement rather than invest all the resources in a trial. If $10,000 makes the problem go away then that is saving a week’s worth of lawyer fees. Hence, this is why Ayoob’s advice on cash wrapped in a matchbook is a cheap insurance premium.

Who has cash and needs matches these days? Don’t be an idiot, figure out some token that you can sacrifice to potentially eliminate years of pain (if you make it out of the situation). There are also concealed carry insurance funds out there. It would be wise to belong to one of those if you have made that choice to carry a firearm. The principle that I always go back to is “If you think that you are walking into a place that you will need to use your firearm, then it is best to avoid that place”.

End Your Programming Routine: If you are reading the book along with me and you are having a hard time with me contradicting Ayoob, I would say that you need training. I will admit that I also need more training and do not consider myself an expert. But, my words are coming from years of multiple, consensus sources in a developing field of civilian concealed carry. Don’t forget that this book was written before any of that began.